The Legend of Zelda: Gerudo Princess
by EternalChibiMoon
Summary: 7 years after the events of Twilight Princess, the story follows the events that surround Link and his friends as they become involved in a war between Hyrule and Ganondorf's army and as they discover the past behind their mysterious friend, Mizuki, who was taken in by Link 7 years ago.
1. Chapter 1: Ordona

**Chapter 1: Ordona**

Link hurried on Epona to the village of Kakariko. He had defeated Ganondorf and prevented him from taking over Hyrule. But none of that was as important as bringing the children of his home village back safely. He raced into the desert town where Renaldo greeted him. The four children he had fought so hard to save ran outside to greet him. Ilia followed slowly behind them, she smiled at Link.

"Link!" Collin, Beth, and Talo yelled merrily.

Link jumped off of Epona, "I've come to take you all back to Ordon."

Ilia placed her hand on Epona, "How are all of us going to go back at once? Epona can't carry that many people."

"It's fine, I have arranged a carriage to take you all back myself." Renaldo said. Link nodded towards him in thanks.

"I can't wait to see my parents again." Beth exclaimed excitedly.

The carriage soon arrived and they all loaded in. Before Link could hop onto Epona to follow the carriage, they heard a scream. Collin and Talo peered out of the carriage to see what was making that noise. "There!" Talo exclaimed and pointed in the direction that Link had arrived. A little girl with long black hair was running frantically. A monster riding a large boar was galloping after her. Link jumped onto Epona and raced towards the girl. Before the monster could snatch the girl up, Link had already gotten ahold of her.

"Are you alright?" Link asked as he turned Epona around to fight the monster. The girl grabbed onto Link and dug her face into his chest and nodded. Link unsheathed his sword and raced towards the monster. With a few hits, he defeated the giant beast. He led Epona back towards the carriage. The girl took her face away from Link's chest to make sure that the monster was really dead. "You're safe now. Where did you come from? Where is your home?" Link asked wondering why this little girl was being chased. She looked about the same age as Collin; she had large blue eyes and long, sleek, black hair.

"I don't have a home anymore." She said softly. Link looked at her startled, the monster must have destroyed her home.

"Would you like to come with us?"

"Where?"

"To the village of Ordon." The girl nodded happily. "You can stay with me. My name is Link."

"Mizuki." The carriage and Epona slowly left for Ordon, where everyone could go home.

* * *

Link finished herding in the goats for the day. A young girl watched him carefully as he finished his job. He hopped off of Epona and led her towards the girl. Mizuki touched Epona gently. "If you want, I can teach you how to ride."

"There's no need for that. I'm not very coordinated."

Link chuckled, "Riding horses isn't about coordination." He and Mizuki headed through town to get back home. They found Talo and Malo at the practice dummy outside of Link's house. Talo was practicing some sword moves as Malo watched him. "How is the practicing going?" Link asked.

Talo turned around and whipped the sweat off of his brow. "I think I'll be ready for the exam. Soon I will be a knight of Hyrule." Talo said confidently.

"I wouldn't be so cocky." Malo mumbled.

Talo turned around, "Hey! I am as good as Link! I've got this in the bag!"

"No one is better than Link-sama." Mizuki mumbled.

Talo turned towards Link and blushed. "Mizuki... I didn't see you there."

"Maybe I should take you up on what you just said." Link said taking the sword from Talo.

"What?"

"We should see who is the better swordsman." He said as he took a few swings of the blade. "A little friendly sparring."

Talo's eyes lit up, "You're on!" He turned around and took the sword Malo was holding. He braced himself in a ready position for Link to attack.

"Just try not to hurt yourselves." Malo mumbled angrily.

"Are you ready Link?" Talo asked confidently.

Mizuki moved next to Malo so that she would not be caught in the cross blades. Link nodded in approval and took a defensive stance. Talo lunged forward and swung at Link's midsection. Link blocked the attack with his sword and attempted to throw Talo off balance. Talo quickly recovered and went for another attack. Link continued to defend and counter Talo's moves. Mizuki and Malo watched quietly as the two continued to spar with all of their strength.

Ilia and Collin walked out into the area in front of Link's house. Ilia looked up to see what the two men were up to. "What are you guys doing?" She yelled and ran between them. Talo screeched to halt and nearly grazed Ilia with his sword.

"Be careful! I could have hurt you!" Talo yelled angrily.

"Ilia, you need to be more careful." Link said calmly.

"You two shouldn't be doing such stupid things, what if one of you got seriously hurt?" Ilia said concerned for their safety.

"I think the only one in danger of being hurt was you, Ilia-san." Mizuki added politely.

Ilia looked towards Mizuki and gave her a dirty look. "I don't think I asked you Mizuki." She turned back towards Link. "If you're done with your little match, then you can work on training me like you promised."

"Training?" Talo questioned.

"Well, everyone was learning the sword from Link so I wondered if I should learn something as well. So I've asked him to teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow. I want to be useful if something happens again." Ilia said referring to the incident seven years ago where they were all kidnapped.

"I don't think anything like that will be happening again, but since you asked, I will teach you." Link said. He went inside and quickly returned with the bow and arrows he had received from the Gorons.

"I just want to make myself useful, unlike some people." Ilia said as she looked at Mizuki. Mizuki pretended not to notice that Ilia was referring to her. Talo and Malo left and returned home. Mizuki watched as Link taught Ilia the basics of archery. After a couple of hours, Ilia was able to hit the target from a couple feet away. Link called it a day and she returned to the village.

Link climbed up and sat on the ledge next to Mizuki. He looked up at the setting sun. "I can't believe it's already been seven years since then." He wondered if the adventure he had embarked on all those years ago had really happened. Everything from then felt like it was merely a dream. Maybe Midna, Zant, Ganondorf, the Mirror of Twilight and even Princess Zelda were all a figment of his imagination. Yet, he still had the items he had acquired on his journey. Those were the only things reassuring him that everything had really happened.

"Time sure does fly by." Mizuki noted.

"Yeah." Link looked at Mizuki who had begun to stare at the clouds. "Say Mizuki," She looked at him, "What do you plan on doing?"

"What do you mean Link-sama?"

"Everyone else seems to have something they want to do. I mean, soon you will all be adults. So what is it that you want to do?"

Mizuki paused. "I don't know. I never thought about it."

Link placed his hand on Mizuki's head and smiled, "Don't worry too much about it, there is no rush." He stood up and headed inside so that he could prepare some dinner for the two of them.

Mizuki looked out towards the village and smiled. "I really do have all the time in the world, don't I?" She walked inside to assist Link.

Early the next morning, Mizuki awoke to the sounds of training coming from right outside. She got up and headed outside to find Talo teaching Malo some basic sword techniques. Mizuki headed down to greet the two of them. They stopped their training momentarily. "Good morning Mizuki." Talo said energetically.

"Good morning," She looked around, "Where's Link-sama?"

"I think he was running an errand for the Mayor. Something about escorting some supply cart down here from Castle Town." Talo explained based off of the bits and pieces he had heard from his parents.

"Is it alright for him to just leave the village like that?"

"Why not? We are in need of some things and the fields can be pretty dangerous on occasion."

"But didn't something bad happen the last time he left?" Mizuki asked remembering the story that Link told her about when she was younger.

Talo paused for a second, his face turned dark as he remembered those terrifying days in Kakariko before Link came to save them. He regained his composure. "Don't worry, if anything happens, Collin and I should be able to take care of it." He placed his hand on Mizuki's shoulder, "We're a lot more competent that you give us credit for."

Mizuki headed into the village and allowed them to continue their training. Most of the adults in the village still seemed weary due to Link's absence. Mizuki never knew how much the people of Ordon actually looked to him for protection. She had heard them time after time remark about how grateful they were to him for saving their children, but she didn't think that they had relied so heavily on him for protection. She walked to the ranch where Collin was rounding up the goats in Link's place. She watched him for a while before heading back into the village. As she entered Ordon, she found Ilia outside feeding the chickens. Ilia turned and stared at Mizuki. "Look who decided to come into town. Are you going to make yourself useful today?"

Mizuki watched Ilia for a few seconds as she tried to conjure up a rebuttal. "I'm not useless."

Ilia glared at her, "Of course not. You just don't do anything to help out around here so I figured that you were useless."

"I help Link-sama all the time!" Mizuki countered.

Ilia shoved her face into Mizuki's, "I don't know what you've done to win his favor, but cooking meals for one person hardly counts as being helpful."

Talo ran over to Mizuki and Ilia. "Ilia stop picking on Mizuki!" He yelled.

"And another man entranced by the great Mizuki enters." Ilia mumbled so that only Mizuki could hear. "I am not picking on her! I just think that she should help out around here." Ilia replied.

"It looks to me like you're picking on her." Talo said moving between the two of them. He quickly turned his attention to Mizuki who continued to stand there motionless. "Are you alright?" He asked gently as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Mizuki slapped his hand away quickly. "I'm not a helpless little girl!" Mizuki yelled. She stared at Ilia with a coldness neither of them had ever seen before. She walked away, tired of the conversation between such children.

Ilia stood in place, frozen, for a few moments. She had never seen a look so dark and sinister in such a long time. She remembered some of the monsters that she had encountered having a similar expression to them. Ilia fell to the ground in disbelief. "What the hell was that?"

Mizuki headed to the spring where she sat on the ground and watched the waterfall as it poured into the pool of water before her. She sighed; she was becoming tired of the day-to-day routine that she had been forced into. She looked up at the sky longingly. "My time here is almost up, isn't it?"

"It's too bad that you couldn't stay in such peacefulness for longer." Mizuki flinched. She turned around to find an unsightly man behind her. She could feel her throat closing up as it became harder and harder to breathe. Her heart began to race furiously. "However, I have work that I have to do." The man said as he smiled at Mizuki.

Mizuki stood up quickly, "How did you –"

The man held up his hand, gesturing that he did not want to hear anything that she had to say. "You make it sound like you were hiding from me."

"But I haven't used any of my magic!" Mizuki yelled. Her hands began to shake as fear consumed her.

"That doesn't mean anything." He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Mizuki's body became stiff. He leaned into her ear. "I never lost sight of you." He whispered, he moved away from her and began to pace around.

Mizuki continued to watch him, "So why are you here?" She croaked as she struggled to get the words out.

He laughed softly before responding. "You've become quite comfortable here." Mizuki looked at him suspiciously. "That boy that you're always with... What's his name? Link? ... You seem to have quite an attachment to him."

Mizuki scowled at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He turned to look at her, "Perhaps you've fallen in love with that Hylian boy."

"What are you—"Mizuki began, but before she would finish her sentence, he had grabbed her throat with his massive hand. Mizuki tried to pry him away but was not strong enough to do so.

"Mitsuke, you must remember something." He looked at her pained expression as he spoke. He lifted her off the ground so that the two of them could be at eye level. They stared into each other's eyes. "You belong to me, and I will not allow you to intermingle with such Hylian scum." He dropped her and turned away. As Mizuki struggled to catch her breath, he took his chance to get away. "Never forget that." After saying this, the man disappeared.

Mizuki took some time to recover before finally standing up. She ran back towards Ordon in a fury. As she entered the village she saw that everything was still at peace. His aim did not seem to be the town. She looked around with a flurry of emotions. Talo, who looked at her with concern, grabbed her. "Mizuki is everything alright?"

She took some time to calm down and looked around. "Is Link-sama back?" She asked worriedly. She hoped that no harm had come to him because of that man.

"No. He is still out on his errand I think. I don't think he will be arriving until later tonight." Talo said as he tried to remember exactly what Link had told him before he left.

_Tonight? This is bad. _Mizuki smiled at Talo calmly. "Alright thanks. I guess I'll just have to eat alone tonight."

"That's what you were concerned about?" Talo asked, shocked.

"Yeah." Mizuki responded wearily. "Why wouldn't I be? It's not like I would be concerned about Link-sama's safety, he can handle himself."

Talo smiled, "No need to worry! I'll have everyone come over to have dinner with you!" Talo said walking off to find the others and inform them of their dinner plans. Mizuki tried to get Talo's attention, but it was already too late. She sighed heavily.

Mizuki decided not to worry about Talo's actions and return home. As she headed back to the outskirts of town, Rusl ran towards her frantically. "Rusl-san, is everything alright?" He grabbed Mizuki and began to drag her towards the farm. "What's going on?" He stopped quickly.

"You have to go hide."

"Why would I do that?"

"There is a huge army of monsters headed this way. I don't know what they want, but they are definitely going to come through here." Before Mizuki could say anything else, Talo and the others arrived with their weapons in hand.

"Rusl-san, we'll help you fight off the monsters." Ilia said confidently as she held the bow that Link had given to her only the day before.

"Link's trained us well father." Collin said confidently. Talo and Malo nodded in agreement. Collin turned to Mizuki. "You should hide in the mayor's house, that's where Beth is." Mizuki nodded and began to head that way. But a wall of monsters blocked her path.

"What the –"Talo began; he was interrupted by a sinister laugh.

A dark-skinned man appeared before him. Despite his dark complexion, he had bright red hair that he had slicked back and golden eyes. His black armor nearly blended in with his skin tone. He pulled out a glowing, white sword and pointed it towards the group. "Where is he?"

"What are you talking about?" Talo answered as he pulled out his sword to challenge him.

"The Hylian boy." The man asked looking around the village for him to appear.

"What do you want with Link?" Ilia yelled.

The man smiled. "That boy has caused me some troubles for these past few years, I just wanted to repay the favor."

"Well as you can see, he's not here!" Ilia responded. "Who do you even think you are just barging in and attacking innocent people?"

The man laughed, his cackle reverberated throughout the village. "Attacking innocent people? I have every right to attack you dwellers of Hyrule." Ilia looked at him confused. None of them were sure about what he was getting at. He looked at them coldly. "It's you people that destroyed my people after all. I'm just repaying the favor."

"You're going to kill us aren't you?" Mizuki asked nonchalantly. She needed to keep the conversation going, at least until Link returned. She tried to concentrate while she stared at the man she feared most.

"Why would you think that?"

"What other explanation is there?" She smiled at him confidently as she tried to make herself appear stronger than she was. The man aimed the palm of his hand at her; before anyone could react he shot a ball of energy at her that threw her to the ground.

"Mizuki!" Talo yelled as he ran to help her up.

"You really like to get in my way! Just tell me where the Hylian boy is!" The man yelled impatiently.

There was a loud noise as Link came galloping into the village at full speed. He took out his sword and swung it at the man, but missed. He stopped Epona in front of the children and got off. He pointed his sword at the man. "Why are you here Ganondorf?" He asked remembering fighting and defeating him seven years ago. "How are you still alive?"

Ganondorf began to laugh hysterically. "Boy, you really think that could kill the likes of me?" He swung his sword at Link. Link jumped back to avoid the attack.

Talo ran to Link's side, Collin followed suit. "We'll help you fight him!" Talo said confidently.

Ganondorf raised his sword up; it began to glow brighter and brighter. He swung it down towards the three of them in order to take them all out at the same time. At the same time, Mizuki moved in front of them knowing that a hit from that could kill them. In the few seconds that passed, she had tried to use her magic to block the attack, but was not powerful enough. Ganondorf's sword continued into her shoulder. He was able to stop the weapon before it did any major damage. He pulled back quickly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ganondorf yelled furiously.

Mizuki collapsed to the ground, Link, realizing what had happened, ran to her side to steady her. Mizuki grabbed her injured shoulder and flinched at the pain. She looked at Ganondorf and smirked at him. Ganondorf looked at the rest of the humans around them. He turned to his monsters, "We're heading out." Some of them looked confused and began making furious noises. He looked back at the group and stared at the injured Mizuki. "It would be beneficial for us to pull out now. One more false move could mean my demise." He left with his monsters.

* * *

** Author's Note**

I've been working on this story for quite some time and I have been toiling over whether or not to actually put it up on this website. I do hope that if you are reading this chapter, you enjoyed it. I am using the first chapter as a gauge to see how well it is received by others before I put more of it up here (it'll also give me more time to work on the other chapters). It's not that I will only continue this if it is wildly popular, I just want to know what people think about it before I continue on. And it will probably allow me to know if there are any improvements I need to make in the next chapters. So if you feel the urge to say anything about this story, good or bad, please feel free to comment on it. I greatly appreciate all criticism I get from people who read my works. Sorry about the long author's note.

EternalChibiMoon


	2. Chapter 2: Kakariko

Chapter 2: Kakariko

Link and Mizuki stared in the direction that Ganondorf had left. Mizuki, finally realizing how much pain she was in, screamed. "Are you alright?" Link asked trying to calm her down.

Mizuki fell into his chest, breathing heavily. "It hurts." She whispered weakly. Link picked her up carefully. He looked at the others who were still standing behind Epona.

"We have to get her some medical attention." He announced.

"We don't have any doctors here." Rusl said moving towards the two to see her condition for himself. "And we don't have enough time to safely get her to Castle Town."

Ilia took a step forward. "We could always ask Renaldo-san, he did heal that Zora boy." Talo looked at her with shock, he didn't actually expect her to help save Mizuki.

Link walked over to Epona, he turned to Talo and placed Mizuki in his arms, which seemed to surprise him. Link got onto Epona and reached out towards Talo once more. "If I'm going to take her to Renaldo, I'll have to leave now." He said. Talo gave Mizuki back to Link and he leaned her against his chest.

Talo looked at the two with concern. "I'm coming with you," he decided.

"What?" Link questioned.

Talo ran to get his horse and returned. "If you're going to be carrying Mizuki, then I should at least be around in case those monsters show back up." Talo said making up an excuse to go with him. The truth was that he wanted to make sure himself that Mizuki was all right. He trusted Link, but he loved Mizuki too much to care.

Link nodded and the two went off towards Kakariko. Ilia and the others watched as they left the village once more. She turned to the others. "With Link and Talo gone, we're going to have to be on guard." She said to Collin and Malo. They both nodded and went off to make sure the rest of the villagers were all right.

Rusl looked at Ilia and smiled. "Don't worry, I think everything will be alright."

* * *

Link and Talo finally made it out of the Faron woods and began crossing the field. They proceeded slowly to ensure that they would not cause any further harm to Mizuki, who was still unconscious. They had been riding in silence for some time now, and Talo felt more and more impatient with each passing second. "Link, can I ask you something?"

"What is it Talo?"

Talo paused for a second and thought about how he wanted to word his question. "I was just wondering... If it's not too much for me to ask..." Talo began; Link stared at him as he waited for Talo's question. "Do you like Mizuki?"

Link paused for a moment. "Of course I do, why wouldn't I?" Talo looked at him disappointed. "I like all of you, and I will do anything in my power to keep you all safe."

"That's not what I meant!" Link looked at him surprised. Talo's face turned red, "I mean... do you love her?"

Link's face turned red. "No! I don't have any such feelings towards her! I feel the same way towards her as I do all of you!"

Talo stared ahead for a few seconds before responding. "Then why?" Link looked at him, unsure at what he was getting at. "I mean, you definitely treat her differently from everyone else."

"It's because I'm all she has."

"What's that supposed to mean? She has the whole village! And we're her friends!"

"But all of you have families." Talo looked at the ground, realizing what Link was getting at. "For these past seven years, I've had to be her family. That's all."

"But you do realize that she has feelings for you right?"

Link laughed, "She doesn't have any feelings for me. Even if she did, I think I'm a little old for her."

The two continued in silence the rest of the way to Kakariko. Once they arrived Renaldo greeted them. "What brings you here friends?"

Link smiled at Renaldo, "It's been a while." He picked up the unconscious Mizuki and held her out towards Renaldo. "If it's not too much to ask, could you give her some medical attention?" Renaldo took her and looked at the gaping wound in her shoulder.

"This will be a little tricky to heal, but I think I can provide the proper medical care." He said confidently. "I'll begin looking after her." He said and headed towards the old hotel that was rarely used.

As Renaldo took Mizuki for medical treatment, Link and Talo decided to take a walk around the town. Talo looked around the sparsely populated desert town. "This place really hasn't changed, even after all these years." He noticed that most of the buildings were still in shambles. Many buildings that lined the dirt road had holes in their roofs, broken windows, and covered in a thick layer of dust. Only the convenient store and the sanctuary had remained fairly clean, the continual dust storms made it difficult to keep the buildings completely clean.

Link stared at the mountains that housed the Gorons. "Is that a bad thing?"

Talo chuckled, "I suppose not. It's just strange to think about how much has changed in our lives, and yet this place has remained the same." He walked over to the spring and put his feet into the water. He looked up at the sun that was shining just over the spring.

Link placed his hand on Talo's shoulder. "We should go see if Renaldo needs anything from us." Talo nodded and the two headed for the old hotel where Renaldo was tending to Mizuki's injuries. They waited for Renaldo to emerge from the room that he had taken her in hopes of hearing some good news after such a terrible series of events. It wasn't until well into the night that Renaldo emerged. He looked at the two anxious men who waited to hear what he had to say.

"How is she?" Talo asked.

Renaldo looked back at the room and shut the door so as to not disturb his patient. "She will be quite alright, she should be able to travel back with you tomorrow morning."

"So soon? An injury of that size should take a while to heal." Link noted.

"Yes, well if this was a normal injury then I would agree with you."

"A normal injury?"

"I'm not sure how, but it seems that Mizuki's body has already begun rapidly healing the injury. An injury of that size should take a few months to heal completely, but at the rate that her body is healing, she should be completely fine by the end of the week." He explained.

"Within the week? That's impossible!" Link protested.

"I would normally agree, but she is different somehow."

Link looked at Talo, who seemed to think nothing strange was going on. "Can I see her when she wakes up?"

"I'll ask her, but I'm sure it will be alright."

Talo and Link sat outside of Mizuki's room while Renaldo continued to attend to her. After about an hour of waiting, Talo fell asleep as he leaned back against the wall. Link quietly waited as he listened to Talo's quiet snoring. Soon, Renaldo walked back out of the room. He looked down at Link, "She's willing to talk to you if you're still up for it." He moved out of the way and allowed Link to enter and shut the door behind him.

Link stared at Mizuki for a few moments. She was staring out the window that was next to her bed and using her free hand to hold her shoulder. Link had been waiting to speak to her, he had been formulating many questions in his mind that he was now seeking answers to. He didn't know what he would possibly get out of Mizuki, but he was still willing to try. He coughed to clear his throat, which caused Mizuki to stare at him. "There are some things that have been bothering me."

"What is it Link-sama?" Mizuki asked innocently.

"When I was on my way back to Ordona, I suddenly heard your voice..." He began as the tried to figure out how he wanted to word it without sounding crazy.

"You heard my voice?"

He nodded. "It sounded like you were calling out to me, I kept hearing you say _'Link-sama, save us.' _And when I headed back to the village as fast as I could... _he_ was there." Link paused for a moment and looked around the room. "It's almost like... you were communicating with me."

"That's impossible. No one can do such a thing."

"At first I thought so too. I thought it was a trick of the mind, a coincidence that I had heard your voice and then found _him_ attacking the village."

"You say 'at first,' is there something that led you to believe otherwise?"

Link walked over to Mizuki's bed and sat on it. He turned and stared into her large blue eyes. "But then something else I thought was impossible happened."

Mizuki averted her eyes from his gaze. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"When _he_ was going to attack the three of us, you jumped in the way. The power that came from that attack could have easily killed all of us. But it didn't." Mizuki's heart began to beat faster; she peered at him to see the blank expression on his face. "What are you?"

"I-I'm Mizuki, a Hylian girl that was saved by you." She said with a small voice.

Link quickly grabbed Mizuki's forearms tightly, she flinched at the pain his sudden movements caused to her shoulder. "If you really are Mizuki, then you should not have been able to stop that attack! Mizuki has never fought a battle in her life! How could she have possibly been able to stop an attack from _him_, a man I was apparently unable to kill?" Link yelled. He stood up quickly and headed towards the other end of the room in order to cool his head. Mizuki stared at him coldly; right now she had an uncontrollable desire to kill him. As he turned back around, she reverted to her normal warm gaze. "It's not only that, but that injury. No one should be able to recover from that in less than a week. That's impossible."

Mizuki grabbed onto her shoulder once more. "I don't know how my body works. Maybe the injury isn't as bad as we all think it is."

"Even Renaldo thought your recovery speed was strange. It's almost like you're not even human." Link said coldly. Mizuki flinched at the words. She looked down at her lap and continued to hold onto her shoulder. Link looked at Mizuki who began to shake.

Mizuki threw her head up suddenly and looked him in the eyes. "What the hell would you know?" She yelled as tears streamed down her face.

Before Link could retaliate the door swung open and Talo ran to Mizuki's side. He crouched down and tried to calm the sobbing Mizuki. He turned to Link angrily. "What the hell did you say to her? You didn't need to make her cry!" He walked over to Link and grabbed his collar. "You should apologize right now!"

"I should apologize? She is the one not answering my questions!" Link retorted.

Mizuki sprung out of bed and ran towards Talo. He turned around in time to catch her as she was falling after her legs had given out. She grabbed onto him tightly as he held her in his arms. "Please don't fight over me." She said weakly.

Talo helped up and back into bed, he placed his hand on her face. "I promise, we won't fight over you." He smiled at her.

Mizuki smiled back at him, "That's what I love most about you Talo-kun."

Talo looked at her surprised as his face became red. "Wh-wh-what you lo-love most about m-me?" He repeated. Link rolled his eyes.

"She's treating you like a fool." He muttered.

Talo stood up and looked Link in the eyes. "Maybe you're just angry that she loves me more than you."

"This has nothing to do with love you idiot."

Renaldo walked and grabbed the two boys by their collars and dragged them out of the room. "I'm sorry Mizuki-chan if these two idiots disturbed you. Please get some rest."

Mizuki waved at the two of them as they were hauled away. "Thank you Renaldo-san, and goodnight everyone." The door shut behind the three and Mizuki went back to looking out the window. She looked out towards the large mountain that loomed over the small village of Kakariko.

* * *

The next morning Link and Talo saddled up their horses without saying a word to each other. Mizuki and Renaldo walked out and the three set off back to Ordona where everyone was waiting for them. Mizuki decided to ride back with Talo since Link seemed adamant to even look at Mizuki. The three rode in silence for a few hours, but soon the silence became too much for Talo to handle. "So how are you feeling this morning Mizuki?" He asked casually.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Mizuki responded softly. She smiled at him, which caused his face to turn red. He wasn't used to having her this close to him.

"I-I see. That's good to hear." He said trying to continue the conversation.

Link rolled his eyes as he continued to listen to Talo try to have a conversation with Mizuki. Despite all of his attempts, Mizuki would only respond promptly with short retorts that made it difficult for Talo to continue the conversation. As Talo stumbled to find a new topic to talk about, Link interjected. "Could we all just continue this little journey in silence?"

"What's wrong with a little small talk?" Talo asked hoping to continue to talk to Mizuki, this was a chance he was not going to let pass.

"I agree with Link-sama. It's nice talking to you Talo-kun, but I'm a little tired." Mizuki said as she leaned her body into Talo's chest. His face turned red again and he struggled to get any more words out.

They continued through the field in silence. As they reached the Faron woods, Link noticed something strange about the familiar surroundings. He quickly halted Epona, Talo soon stopped to see what Link was up too. "What are you—" He began.

"Shh." Link said quickly. He hoped off of Epona and drew his sword as he looked up in the trees.

Talo quickly pulled out his sword and held Mizuki closer to his body. "It's below us." Mizuki whispered. Soon the ground began to shake and split apart. Link got on Epona and he and Talo rode to safer ground. A large skeleton emerged from the ground. It climbed out of the hole that it had made and pulled out a giant halberd.

"What is that thing?" Talo said in shock.

"Whatever it is, it needs to be taken care of." Link said jumping off of Epona and running towards the skeleton. The skeleton raised its sword and swung it at Link, which he easily dodged. He began to evade the skeleton's attack while occasionally taking a few jabs at the skeleton's back. Soon the skeleton fell to pieces, lifelessly lying on the ground before disappearing. Link sheathed his sword and headed back towards Talo and Mizuki.

"That's strange, monsters shouldn't be roaming the woods like this." Talo noted.

"I agree something strange is going on." Link said as he hoped back on Epona.

"Ganondorf must have attacked the village." Mizuki said as she blankly stared at the ground.

Talo began to laugh hysterically. "Where would you get that idea Mizuki?"

Link took her words a little more seriously, "What do you mean?"

"You said it was strange for monsters to be roaming these woods. That man you called Ganondorf was able to bring all of those monsters into Ordona, it's quite possible he returned to Ordona and attacked the village again." She reasoned trying not to seem more knowledgeable about Ganondorf that she needed to be.

"But why would he go back after he pulled out once?" Talo asked as he played along with Mizuki.

_A better question is why did he retreat in the first place?_ Link thought to himself.

"I don't know, but I'm worried about everyone, we should hurry." She said looking up at Talo with a pained expression. He nodded and the three went on their way at a quicker pace than before.

They reached the village and found it to be unusually barren. There seemed to be no life at all. While everything appeared to be normal, there seemed to be an odd absence of people, like they just disappeared in the middle of their normal lives. Link and Talo got off their horses and Talo helped Mizuki down to the ground. The three looked around the eerie ghost town that was their home. Link walked over to Rusl's house and knocked on the door a couple times, Talo headed over to Beth's house to see if she was home. No one answered the doors. Link came back to the two of them. "Where did everyone go?" He asked. Talo shrugged at him and Mizuki continued to look around the empty village.

"I can't believe what you said was true Mizuki." Talo said as he scratched his head.

Mizuki turned back to look at Talo. "It was a lucky guess." She said with a hint of concern on her face.

"This is troubling me." Link interjecting.

"What is?" Talo responded.

"If Ganondorf's goal was to attack the village, why did he leave and come back?" Link thought aloud. "He had us surrounded, he could have easily done what he had come to do the first time and then leave it at that. Why show up and leave only to come back with the same intentions?"

"He retreated because he figured he was no match for us. He must've been waiting for both of us to leave so that he would have a fighting chance." Talo tried to reason.

Mizuki chuckled under her breath at the stupidity of Talo's explanation. Link shook his head. "No, he left after he injured Mizuki after saying... 'One more false move could mean my demise,' if I remember correctly."

"Maybe he was worried that if he had killed Mizuki, you would go all out on him and that would surely mean his death." Talo tried to explain.

Link looked at Mizuki. "Do you have any idea what he meant by that?"

"I know about as much as Talo-kun knows, nothing." Mizuki responded coldly.

"There has to be something you're not telling us." Link pressed.

"Something she's not telling us?" Talo questioned.

Link nodded. "What is your connection to Ganondorf?"

Talo turned to Link furiously, "How could you insinuate that Mizuki has something to do with that guy?" He yelled.

Mizuki remained silent; luckily she was spared this conversation when the three heard someone yelling for them. They turned around to see Beth and Collin running towards them. Malo and Ilia followed slowly behind them.

"You're alright!" Talo said excitedly as he ran to meet them. He hugged his little brother, happy to see that he was still alive.

"What happened here?" Link asked as Ilia approached him.

"That guy that was here before just attacked us. There wasn't much of a fight, but he took all of the adults with him." She explained.

"Took all of the adults?" Mizuki questioned. "Why would he do that?" She said under her breath.

"Yeah, he just hypnotized them or something and they just left the village without a second thought." She tried to explain.

Link smiled at her, "I'm happy to know that you are all safe." He looked over at Talo who was talking with Beth and Collin. "We shouldn't stay here, it's not safe." He announced.

"Where are we going to go?" Beth asked.

"We can just go back to Kakariko, I'm sure Renaldo-san has plenty of room for us there." Ilia suggested.

"We need to go to Castle Town." Mizuki announced.

Ilia looked at her angrily. "But Mizuki-san, why would we need to go to Castle Town?" Collin asked.

Mizuki looked at the group of children. "If Ganondorf really did what Ilia-san said he did, I don't think it's safe to stray too far from Hyrule's soldiers." She looked over to Link, "Besides, don't you think it would be safer to stay somewhere that is protected by Princess Zelda herself?"

Link nodded in agreement. "Mizuki has a point. We're going to head to Castle Town." He announced. Everyone nodded and compliance and began to collect their things to begin their journey to Hyrule's capital, the place that housed the Princess Zelda.


	3. Chapter 3: Castle Town

Chapter 3: Castle Town

The group arrived in Hyrule's Castle Town before sunset. Link went around town inquiring about a place for them all to stay at while the others walked around the enormous city. It was their first time to ever see Hyrule's castle, they were all amazed by its sheer size. Link returned to find them all waiting in the main square. "Did you find anything?" Ilia asked as he reached the group.

"Yeah, Telma said that she would rent out the rooms above her bar to us." Link responded as he pointed down the south street where the bar was located.

He led all of them to her bar and introduced them all to their new landlord, Telma. She had limited space for all seven of them. It was decided that among the three rooms all the girls would share a room and Talo, Malo, and Collin would share a room. Because Link was older and taking care of them, he was given the honor of having his own room. After such a long journey, everyone retired to the rooms. Mizuki, who did not feel like sharing the same space as Ilia, decided to sit around at the bar where she could get away. She sighed as she stared into the glass of water that sat in front of her.

"Love trouble?" Telma said suddenly.

Mizuki jumped at her question and shook her head. "Of course not, I'm just tired, that's all."

Telma smiled at her and gave a little chuckle. "If I didn't know any better I would say that you had just gotten in a fight with the person you like. That's what your face seems to say."

"And how would you know what my face says?" Mizuki asked skeptically.

"Well I'm a bartender. I've met and spoken with all kinds of people. I've even helped a few couples with their love problems." She winked at Mizuki.

"I don't think I will be needing your help with anything." Mizuki said grimly as she took a sip of her water. Telma looked up to see Talo walking over to the two of them. Mizuki set down her glass and looked behind her to see him approaching.

"Can we take a walk?" He asked seriously.

"Why?" Mizuki asked skeptically.

"I need to talk to you."

Mizuki looked over to Telma who winked at her as a sign of encouragement. Mizuki sighed and got up from her chair and followed Talo outside.

They slowly walked through the empty side streets of Castle Town. They remained silent as they traveled about the city for a little while. When they were in a somewhat isolated area Talo stopped and turned to face Mizuki. "There's been something that I've been meaning to ask you about."

Mizuki cocked her head. "What?"

"Back in Kakariko," He stuttered. "You said you loved me." He looked her in the eye. "Where you telling the truth?"

"Why would I lie to you about something like that?"

Talo shook his head. "I don't know, Link has been acting so strangely towards you that I thought maybe you were using me to make him jealous... or something."

Mizuki took a step towards Talo and grabbed his hand. "I would never try to play with your feelings."

Talo's face flushed. "Then you really..."

Mizuki nodded. She turned away from him and started heading back to the bar. "Now is there anything else you wanted to say to me."

"I was wondering if you would tell me where you came from."

Mizuki stopped in her tracks. "I'm from Hyrule."

Talo shook his head. "No, I mean, where had you been before Link took you in."

Mizuki remained silent for a few moments. "I'm only telling you this because I trust you." She got no response from him but decided to continue."7 years ago... Ganondorf took over Hyrule Castle."

Talo nodded. "I know that."

"When he did that, he searched Hyrule for people that could potentially have the power to oppose him. Unfortunately, I was born into a family known for having powerful magic-users." She paused. "I was taken from my family and forced to be a slave for Ganondorf in that Castle." She grabbed her injured shoulder. "He...he would often abuse me. Trust me, I've had much worse injuries than this." Talo took a few steps towards her; he wasn't sure whether or not he needed to comfort her. "When Ganondorf was defeated, I ran away and some monsters came after me. And then Link-sama saved me." She said looked up at him.

Talo stood before her and grabbed her hand. "You went through all of that and never told anyone? Not even Link?"

"You're the first one I've told, Talo-kun."

"Me?"

Mizuki turned away from him and smirked. "Of course, you are important to me."

She looked back at Talo as he placed a hand on her face. "Mizuki." He slowly leaned into her.

Mizuki soon realized what he was about to do and quickly pushed him away. "No!" Her heart beat furiously as she looked at the ground, red-faced and breathing heavily. She looked back up at Talo timidly. "So-sorry." She said as she put her hand on her forehead, she wondered if she was not feeling well.

"No, it's my fault." He looked around awkwardly. "Let's go back." He said. The two walked back to Telma's bar in silence. They headed into the hallway to return to their designated rooms. He turned around suddenly. "There's something that I forgot to tell you."

"What is it?"

"We've decided to join Hyrule's army."

"We? For what purpose?"

"Link, Collin, and I are going to join the war. Princess Zelda has declared war on Ganondorf's forces, since he seems to be marching on Castle Town. Link thinks that this is the only safe place left."

"So you'll be leaving?"

"Not for long. We just want to help protect this place...since we couldn't protect Ordona."

Mizuki smiled at him. "I'll make sure to see you off when you go."

* * *

It wasn't long before Link and the others were called off to the front lines.

Talo stood in front of the gate with Link and Collin. The others were saying their goodbyes to them one by one. Mizuki finally got to Talo and smiled. "Promise me that you won't get yourself killed." She said quietly.

Talo smiled back confidently. "Don't worry, I'll make sure we all come back safely."

Mizuki nodded. She looked back at the castle that loomed over the town. "I just hope that this war ends quickly."

"Princess Zelda will make sure of that." Talo said with pure confidence in his leader.

Mizuki turned back to Talo. He looked into her eyes. "Talo-kun?" She questioned as he leaned into her. The others stared at the two of them, which Mizuki noticed.

He kissed her.

Mizuki pushed him away and stared at him, frightened and embarrassed. She looked at the ground. "I-I can't."

Talo looked at her in surprise. He wanted to ask what she meant by that, but he had to leave with the others. The three of them went off to fight on the front lines in the war against Ganondorf and his monster army.

* * *

A few months passed and they had not gotten word of Link and the others' safety. In that time Ilia had begun helping out Telma at her bar and Beth helped the doctor down the road with his work while learning about medicine. Mizuki decided to keep herself busy by working at one of the outdoor shops selling various items to anyone that walked by. They had settled into a peaceful lifestyle, much like the one that they had in Ordona. The idea that their families were still missing or off to war still loomed over them, which was something that they never forgot.

Mizuki bowed to a customer as he left the area. As she began to deal with another one, there was a loud bang that sounded more like an explosion. People began to move towards the source of the noise, and they gathered in the town square. Mizuki peered over the people to try and see what was going on. Some began to scream at the sight of the monsters that began to invade the area. The monsters attacked the people and the crowd quickly dispersed as they ran for somewhere safe to hide.

Mizuki looked around and tried to figure out what was going on. A couple monsters headed her way and raised a weapon to her. Before they could strike, they were all cut down.

"Link-sama!" Mizuki said, recognizing the wielder of the sword.

He grabbed her hand. "Are you alright?" Mizuki nodded. He dragged her behind him as they headed away from the square. "We need to get out of here." They ended up in Telma's bar. Link quickly shut the door behind them and they walked through the crowd of people and eventually found Talo, Ilia, and Malo.

"Did you find Beth?" Link asked.

Talo nodded his head. "Yeah, Collin went to be with her at the doctor's office. They should be fine."

"Now that you know everyone's safe, mind telling me what's going on?" Ilia interrupted.

Link sat down on a bar stool next to her. "Ganondorf's army is here."

"How could such a thing happen?" Ilia yelled.

Talo shrugged. "His army was tougher than expected. Not to mention..."

"What?" Malo asked.

Link's expression became pained. "All of adults that were taken from Ordona... they've been brainwashed to become a part of his army."

"Not just from our village. He has taken all of the villages' people. I had to fight a couple Gorons, they are quite formidable." Talo added.

"How could this be? Why would he do such a thing?" Ilia asked as she worried over the safety of her father.

"Because there's no way soldiers of Hyrule could fight their own brethren." Talo said idealistically. "We would never stoop so low."

Mizuki moved away from the group and eventually wiggled her way outside. She walked through the empty streets and headed for Hyrule Castle. She stood in front of it and heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around to see Ganon and his army standing before her, they were preparing to seize Hyrule Castle for themselves.

"Did you come here to stop me?" Ganon asked amused by the thought.

"We both know I'm not strong enough to defeat you." Mizuki retorted bitterly.

Ganon laughed. "Then what have you come here for, to beg me to spare Princess Zelda's life? Perhaps you've finally decided to join me." He held out his large hand as a peace offering.

"I'm not going to join you. I hate you more than anything else in this world."

"Even more than your pathetic excuse for a life?"

Mizuki flinched at the words. She brushed it off with a smirk. "At least most of mine wasn't spent sealed away somewhere or another."

"At least mine wasn't spent watching the slow demise of our people." He said softly. His face showed no amusement as he said those words. He looked up at her. "Why have you come here?"

Mizuki took a few steps back. She pointed at him confidently. "I'm giving you my declaration of war!"

"Declaration of war?"

"I promise, this time, I will kill you, Ganon!"

Ganondorf laughed hysterically. He made a motion to his army and they proceeded to charge ahead of him into the castle. Mizuki did nothing to stop them. "But as a Hylian, you should not kill your own brethren." He joked.

"I will take back something that was stolen from me."

Ganondorf laughed as he walked past her. He leaned into her ear. "But if you change your mind, all you have to do is give me _that_, and you will have proved your loyalty." He whispered.

He walked away from her and Mizuki walked away from the scene and back to Telma's bar. As wrong as it was to let Ganondorf take the castle without a fight, she knew she could not defeat him. Not without _that_. She saw this as her final opportunity to kill Ganondorf once and for all.

Mizuki walked back to the group, they were still in the same place.

"Where did you run off to?" Ilia asked. Over the past few months, she had become more and more suspicious of Mizuki's actions.

"I was just trying to get some fresh air, it's too stuffy in here." Mizuki responded.

"Well, we should probably turn in for the night." Talo said stretching his back. "Hopefully Collin and Beth will be able to get back soon."

They all headed up to their rooms. Link grabbed Mizuki's arm before she could retire to her own room. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Mizuki nodded. She entered his room and shut the door behind her and sat on the bed. Link sat on the other bed and looked at her intensely.

"Listen, I know I haven't exactly been all that kind to you ever since he attacked."

"What brought this on?"

Link looked down at his hands. "Talo told me about your past."

Mizuki stood up suddenly. "He did what? I told him that in confidence!"

Link grabbed her hand. "Look, while we were camping out I expressed some of my anger towards your elusive behavior when I tried to confront you."

Mizuki sat down, her eyes narrowed. "Go on."

"Talo got angry with me and told me about what you went through." He let go of her hand. "If I had known I never would have said such things. I'm sorry Mizuki."

They remained in silence for a while. "It must've been hard. Fighting in a war." She said softly.

Link looked at her with surprise. "Ah, yeah. It's difficult. Everyday I worried about one of us not surviving."

"But you're strong, and so are Talo-kun and Collin-kun."

Link chuckled. "I'm not that strong."

She turned and looked at him. "But didn't you defeat Ganondorf?"

"Apparently not since he's still walking around like nothing ever happened." He said as he lay down and turned away from her. "If Zelda couldn't stop him, I don't know who can." He said before drifting off to sleep.

Mizuki waited for about an hour to ensure that he was actually asleep. She quietly got up out of bed and quickly gathered her things. She snuck out the door and headed outside. She snuck past the numerous monsters patrolling the streets and headed out into Hyrule Field. She headed off to the place where _that_ was kept.


	4. Chapter 4: Gerudo Desert

Chapter 4: Gerudo Desert

Link ran out of the room and down into the main area. He looked at Telma who was quietly cleaning the glassware. "How can I help you sugar?"

He looked at her breathlessly. "Have you seen Mizuki?"

"Mizuki-chan? I haven't seen her this morning. Is she not in her room?"

Link shook his head. "It's not like her to go off on her own somewhere."

"Not like who?" Ilia asked tiredly as she walked over to the two of them.

"Apparently Mizuki-chan has gone missing." Telma said.

Ilia sat down at the bar, "You're overreacting. I'm sure she just walking around the town like the absent-minded fool that she is. She really has no sense of danger." Ilia ranted.

Link headed for the door. Ilia grabbed his arm before he could get far. "Don't stop me." He said pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"Link, you need to calm down. There is no use overreacting over this situation. Mizuki wouldn't be dumb enough to get herself killed by those monsters out there."

"You wouldn't understand." He said walking out the door.

He questioned anyone he could find. All of the people told him the same thing; they had never seen a black-haired Hylian girl walking around today. He ended his search at the stables where one old man was sitting at a bench and staring out into the distance.

"Excuse me." Link said as he approached the man slowly.

"What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for a Hylian girl. She has long black hair. Have you seen her around?"

The old man pondered the question for a bit. "I do remember seeing a young girl here. But it wasn't today."

"What do you mean?"

"A black-haired girl came knocking on my door quite late last night."

"What did she want?"

"She just wanted to buy a horse from me."

Link looked at him intently. "Do you know where she was headed?"

The man looked up at Link. "I can't tell you such personal information."

"Please, she is a friend of mine. She disappeared so suddenly so I'm worried."

The old man shook his head in refusal. "I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone where she was headed."

Link clenched his fists; he wanted to know where she had gone. He deliberated forcing the man to tell him what he wanted to know, but knew that he could never be that cruel to someone. He heard a low growl behind him. He turned around to find numerous monsters gathered around the two of them. The man screamed in fear of his life, clutched his hands over his head, and closed his eyes tightly, hoping that they would simply disappear. The monsters ran at the two of them. Link pulled out his sword and sliced at each one until there was no one left. He walked over to the old man and grabbed his arm.

"It's alright, they're gone now."

The old man looked up to see that they were once again alone. He sighed. He grabbed his cane and stood up. He headed towards the stable door. "She bought my best horse." He said suddenly, with his back to Link.

"Huh?" He responded at the odd outburst.

"That child bought my fastest horse. She said she was in a hurry."

"Hurry? Where was she going?"

The old man sighed. "I'm only telling you this because you saved my life, it's the least I can do." He opened the stable door. "She said she needed to get to the desert." He said before walking into the stable and disappearing into the building.

Link stood there for a few moments. He wondered what she could possibly need to do in the Gerudo Desert. He ran back to Telma's bar to tell the others about Mizuki's whereabouts. He burst into the door to find Talo, Ilia, and Collin sitting at a table discussing things. They stared at him as he walked over to their table.

"I know where Mizuki went."

Talo stood up and placed his hands on the table. "Where?"

"The Gerudo Desert." Link answered.

"What could she want to do in a desert?" Ilia asked, she wondered if this information was accurate.

Link pondered for a moment. "I'm not sure myself. I do know that there is an old prison in that desert."

"You think there is something at that place that Mizuki wants?" Collin asked.

"Or maybe there is someone from her past that she is going to see." Ilia said sarcastically.

"Whatever it is, we need to go after her." Link said confidently.

"I'm in!" Talo yelled excitedly.

Collin nodded his head. "Me too."

Ilia sighed. She stared at Link intently. "I want to come too."

"You're worried about Mizuki?" Talo asked surprised. He was happy to see that everyone had begun to get along while they were away.

Ilia shook her head. "There is something suspicious about her and it's bothering me."

"In any case, we need to get going quickly. Pack up everything you need and meet me outside the gate." Link said and then walked up the stairs to his room.

The four gathered outside the castle walls. They each mounted their horses. Link moved in front of them and turned to face them. "I know a way to the desert. But I have to warn you, this will be a dangerous trek so be careful." He told the others. They nodded in compliance. And with that, the four headed out.

They rode through Hyrule field, slashing away at every monster that got in their way, and they soon arrived at Lake Hylia. There they searched for an entrance to the Gerudo Desert. With a little searching, the four were able to find a small and narrow pass that led them to the desert.

The four looked out across the vast desert.

Link pointed to his right. "Over there is the Arbiter's Grounds. She is most likely headed that way."

"Then we should hurry!" Talo said galloping ahead. The others followed and the four raced towards the gigantic coliseum-like structure that was known as the Arbiter's Grounds.

They reached the base of the grounds to find a few tents set up. Link got off Epona and drew his sword, prepared to fight whatever monsters were camping here. He heard a rustling noise and pointed his sword towards it. A young, brunette girl fell down in surprise at his sudden movement.

"Oww that hurt." She said as she stood up again.

The four looked at her in disbelief.

"Who are you?" Link asked as he looked around.

She girl stared at him. "I could ask you the same question. Don't you know that these are sacred grounds?"

"Sacred grounds? This was a prison." Ilia said wondering what kind of freaks they had run into.

The girl looked at them shocked. "Don't insult this place!"

"What do you mean? We only know this place as the Arbiter's Grounds." Talo said confused.

She turned around and scoffed. "This place is sacred ground for my people. This place was once a beautiful temple dedicated to our one and only princess." She turned back around. "I am Mina, a descendent of the Gerudo."

"Gerudo?" Collin asked.

Mina nodded. "Yeah, the thieving tribe of the desert. They are my ancestors." She motioned to all of them. "Follow me, you can meet the rest of my people." The four dismounted their horses and followed Mina deeper into the grounds. There a couple of people were gathered around a fire.

The four stood in shock as they recognized one of the people sitting at the fire. "Mizuki!" Link said running to her side.

Mizuki looked up in panic. She averted all of their gazes.

"You know each other?" Mina asked Talo, he nodded. "This girl came here this morning sayin' that she wanted to go into the temple. We told her it was too dangerous. And made her wait here."

"I'm glad you're alright." Link said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Mizuki moved away from him. "This is none of your concern."

"What are you talking about? You leave all of a sudden and don't think these idiots will come looking for you!" Ilia yelled.

Mizuki stood up and clenched her fists. "I didn't ask for any of you to follow me. I can take care of myself." She walked away from them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get into the temple."

A boy with crimson hair grabbed her arm. "You can't it's too dangerous."

Mizuki slapped him away. She looked at him with a cold look in her eyes. "Don't get in my way."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Talo asked. She looked at him.

"There is something I need." She replied bluntly. She turned around quickly and proceeded towards the temple's entrance. Link grabbed her arm.

"Then we'll go with you." Link responded.

Ilia looked at him in surprise. "We will?"

Mina nodded. "If you're going to go, then I'm coming too."

"Why you Mina-chan?" Talo asked.

"This place is sacred to my people, I have to make sure that none of you do anything to upset my ancestors." She explained. "Besides, this is my chance to learn more about the Gerudo people."

Mizuki continued on and the others followed her. They entered the temple to find the old sandstone structures falling apart. The walls were cracked and sand leaked through the ceilings. It was an obvious shell of whatever it once was. The six proceeded slowly through the temple; there was nothing evil in it, nothing that any of them could find anyway.

"You said this was a temple for your princess." Link said breaking the silence. He stared back at Mina, who was walking alongside Talo. "What did you mean by that?"

Mina looked at him excitedly; she always wanted to share the history of her ancestors with others. "Long ago when the Gerudo tribe thrived, the Goddesses blessed them with a Princess. She is said to be the guardian of the Sages."

"Guardian of the Sages?" Talo inquired.

Mina nodded. "The Gerudo Princess has the power to use the powers of individual sages, so long as she protects them from evil." She explained. "So long as the Gerudo Princess was around, the Gerudo tribe would be a prosperous people."

"So what happened to your precious princess?" Ilia asked.

Mina looked down at the ground as her face became somber. "She disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Most believe that she was killed by the evil King Ganondorf during the era of the Hero of Time." Mina answered. "After that, the Gerudo people slowly became less and less prosperous... and before long, they were killed off."

"What did them in?" Talo asked.

Mina struggled to answer. "I-I don't know exactly. Most think it was disease and starvation for the most part."

The group arrived at a large ornate door. Mizuki stared at it for a few seconds. Mina walked to the front of the door and touched it. "I believe this is the door to the throne room where the Gerudo Princess was meant to reside." She pushed open the doors.

The six walked into the room. It had high ceilings and an opening in the middle of the domed ceiling. There were no other openings to the outside. The mosaic floor was mostly hidden by sand that had fallen in through the roof and collected for thousands of years. They walked into the center of the room and looked around in awe. There didn't seem to be another way into or out of the large room.

"So what is it that you need here?" Ilia said looking around and seeing nothing but sand.

Mizuki walked over to the opposite wall. "It's not here." She said blankly. She placed her hand on a painting on the wall and it began to glow. The room started to shake. Mizuki was expecting the door to open but nothing happened.

A low laughter began to echo in the room. Link and Talo pulled out their swords and looked around the room for the source of the noise. Collin gathered Mina and Mizuki against the wall and prepared to defend them from their unknown foe. Ilia pulled out her bow and readied a shot.

"We finally meet again..." The voice called. A large monstrous skull emerged from the ground. It let out a low roar as it raised once of its claws to attack.

"What is that thing?" Talo asked.

The monster slashed at Link and Talo but they were able to dodge. Ilia shot an arrow into its eye socket, but it didn't seem to affect the monster at all. Link ran towards it and began slashing at its face with his sword. The monster screamed in pain as Link hacked away at its skull but as soon as Link jumped back, its wounds healed themselves.

"Why didn't that work?" Link asked in frustration.

"It doesn't seem affected by our attacks." Talo answered. He dodged the monster's attack and then attacked its hand. Nothing seemed to happen when he cut at him.

"What is that monster? Will your friends be able to stop it?" Mina asked in a panicked tone.

The monster let out another low laugh. "You stupid humans, get out of my way!" It said as it swept Link and Talo, causing them to slam against the wall. They lay against the wall, struggling to stand up. "I will kill that woman! If it wasn't for her, I could have continued eating delicious Gerudo flesh!" The monster charged towards Collin. Collin braced himself for the attack, fully prepared to protect Mizuki and Mina. "I will kill the Gerudo Princess!" The monster said. Mina screamed in terror. Before the monster could hit the three of them, a bright light blocked the attack. This light quickly obliterated the skeletal monster and left no trace of it ever being there.

Link and Talo limped over to Collin, who continued to stand in disbelief.

"What just happened?" Collin asked.

"I'm not sure of it myself." Talo responded as he scratched his head.

Mizuki moved away from the wall and Mina walked around in a daze. "It's gone." Mina said softly.

"I wonder what killed it." Mizuki said looking around the room.

"It said something about killing the Gerudo Princess." Talo said and looked at Mina. "It couldn't have been...that he was talking about you?"

Mina stared at him in disbelief. "Huh? Me? That's impossible!" She denied.

"Well you are the only Gerudo here. Maybe you're her reincarnation or something." Ilia reasoned.

Mina looked at her excitedly. "You think so?" She cheered.

The ground began to shake again and a part of the wall opened up to reveal another passageway. The six of them looked at the door and wondered if there was some kind of trap beyond it.

Mina ran towards the passageway. "This place must also recognize that I'm the Gerudo Princess. It must be taking us to somewhere only she knew about." She ran into the passageway. The rest of the group quickly followed after her. They ended up outside. The coliseum that they could see from the outside was adorned with 6 tall pillars that towered over the area. The rest of the area was pretty much empty aside from the giant black rock in the center of the area and a small platform that once held something circular.

"This place..." Link said recognizing it from his journey seven years ago.

Mina walked onto the platform. "So this place it where I converse with the sages!" She said excitedly. She pointed to the top of one of the columns that had a symbol that none of them had seen before. "Those up there are the symbols for each of the six sages."

Link scanned the area. "I don't understand." He said turning to Mizuki. "There's nothing here."

Mizuki stared at one of the pillars that had the top blown off of it. She walked over to the platform where Mina was standing. Mina looked at her offended.

"This place is only for Gerudos, you should be glad I even let you in this far." She said in a commanding tone.

Mizuki looked up at the pillars again, her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry." She said softly as she fell to her knees.

Mina stepped back, a bit surprised by her dramatic apology. "It's not that big of a deal. I'll let it slide just this once."

Mizuki placed her hands on the ground and bowed. "It's all my fault. Won't you forgive me?" She stuttered.

Mina leaned in and placed her hand on Mizuki's shoulder. "Of course." She said warmly.

"I-if I had been stronger... If I had not sat idly by, this wouldn't have happened." Mizuki continued.

Mina stood back up. "Who are you talking to?" She asked confused.

Mizuki sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry..."

Link took a step forward. Even after all that had happened, he still felt the need to help and protect Mizuki no matter what. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know why she was even upset. Talo grabbed him before he could get very far. He shook his head.

Mina looked around to find her and Mizuki surrounded by five translucent figures. None of them resembled any of the known races of Hyrule. They all were ghostly in appearance. Each of them had a symbol on the cloaks they wore that corresponded to the symbols on each of the pillars.

"These are..." Mina said with surprise.

_"Mitsuke-hime." _One of them said with a concerned tone. _"None of this is your fault. We are the ones to blame." _

Mizuki looked up at them and dried her eyes. She stood up and looked around at each of them as they hovered in front of her. "Thank you." She said warmly.

"What's going on?" Mina said moving away from the platform and next to Ilia.

Mizuki turned around and looked at the five that had followed her. "I've come to get what's mine." She said confidently. "For I am Mitsuke, Princess of the Gerudo Desert."


	5. Chapter 5: Arbiter's Grounds

Chapter 5: Arbiter's Grounds

Ilia looked at her in disbelief. "Wait a minute! You're the Princess of the Gerudo people? Don't make me laugh! Wasn't it Mina that saved us back there?" She argued.

Mitsuke chuckled. "Of course not." She looked at Ilia and smirked. "That was my magic that killed that monster." She snapped her fingers and her appearance changed. Her features remained relatively the same, her hair became longer and she appeared older than before. Her attire changed to a short, sleeveless black dress that had a triforce pendant in the front of it adorned with white wings. She had a belt around the dress, which looked to be intended for holding a sword. She wore earrings with the triforce symbol on them and golden gauntlets that covered most of her arm.

Talo drew his sword. "What have you done with Mizuki?"

Mitsuke looked at him coldly. "The woman you know as Mizuki never existed. I was simply using that as a disguise to hide out for a couple years."

"That's impossible! Mizuki grew up with us!" Collin yelled.

Mitsuke shrugged. "You'd be amazed at the kind of magic that can be performed. I made myself appear to be a child."

"Why would you do that?" Talo yelled angrily.

Mitsuke chuckled. "Like I said, I needed to hide out for a couple of years. So blending in with a bunch of brats from a small farming village seemed like the best option."

Link clenched his fists. "So everything was a lie?"

"Of course." Mitsuke said bluntly. "My name, that sob story of a past I gave Talo in Castle Town, even that sweet and innocent personality of mine. I learned a few things from observing Beth."

"What about when you said you loved me? Was that not the truth either?" Talo yelled with pain in his voice.

Mitsuke smirked. "What part of 'everything was a lie' did you not understand?"

"Then why?" Link interrupted. "What did you gain from tricking Talo like that?"

Mitsuke pointed at Link. "It's because you were becoming too meddlesome in my origins. I thought that if I could use someone else to defend me, you would stop pressing into something that was none of your business." She shrugged her shoulders. "And Talo was already head over heels for 'Mizuki,' so I figured that he would be the most willing pawn. All it took was some sweet words and I was able to make him convince you that I was nothing short of completely innocent."

"Give Mizuki back!" Talo screamed as he charged towards Mitsuke to attack. She held out her hand and stopped him dead in his tracks. He struggled to get free, but could barely move.

"You're a little too young to be able to fight me." Mitsuke said throwing him back to the group. "I'm not your enemy. In fact, I loyally serve Princess Zelda."

"How do we know that you're even telling the truth? You've been lying to us this entire time!" Ilia yelled angrily.

"Believe me or don't, it doesn't matter either way. What I said was the truth." She clenched her fists. "I want to kill Ganon more than any of you, so there is nothing that makes me your enemy."

"Kill Ganondorf? But isn't he a Gerudo?" Talo asked confused.

Mitsuke turned her back to the five of them. "It doesn't matter. I will take back what is rightfully mine. No matter the cost." She looked at each of the Sages. "I have returned for..._that_."

The five sages nodded and raised their arms above their heads. Each emitted a bright light. When the lights receded, a long black sword floated in front of Mitsuke. She grabbed it and examined the blade.

Link took out his sword ready for the attack. Mitsuke turned around pointing the blade at him. "This is the thing that can kill him. The Gerudo Sword."

"Gerudo Sword?" Link responded.

Mitsuke nodded. "This sword it as powerful, if not more powerful, than your Master Sword." She said holding up the sword, showing off the large red gem in the center of the handle. "This sword contains the power of the six sages, which only a member of the Gerudo tribe can control."

Link sheathed his sword and took a step forward towards Mitsuke. "Let us help you kill him then. Even if you're not Mizuki, we're still friends aren't we?" Link smiled as he continued to slowly walk towards Mitsuke.

Mitsuke smiled at him, a smile that made her seem like the old Mizuki. She held the sword out to her side. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple." She said softly.

Ganondorf appeared out of thin air next to Mitsuke. He took the sword from her hand and examined it. He grinned sinisterly and looked down at Mitsuke. "You're being so generous all of a sudden. I thought you said you were going to kill me." Mitsuke remained silent. Ganondorf shrugged it off and looked at the five who stared at him wide-eyed.

Talo and Collin pulled out their swords. They charged towards Ganondorf and Mitsuke. Before either of them could reach them, Mitsuke held out her hand and froze them in place. They struggled to move under Mitsuke's spell.

Ganondorf laughed. "You people never learn." He held up the sword and pointed it at Link. "Don't worry boy, I will fight you once more. But for now, we will take our leave." He turned around and grabbed onto Mitsuke's shoulder. They disappeared in an instant.

Collin and Talo fell to the ground after Mitsuke's magic lost its effect. Talo punched the ground in frustration. "Why is this happening?"

Link stood in place motionless. "I don't understand." He looked at the sages who were still materialized in front of them. "What is going on?" He yelled at them.

The sages looked at one another. Finally one of them stepped forward. _"I am the Spirit Sage. I was once known as Nabooru long ago."_ The Spirit Sage introduced. _"In the life before I became a Sage hundreds of years ago, I knew both Mitsuke and Ganondorf quite well."_

"You mean you knew their past lives well." Collin corrected.

"Yeah, no one can live for hundreds of years." Talo added.

The Spirit Sage shook its head. _"While it may seem impossible, it is true. The Gerudo Princess has been alive since before the era of the Hero of Time." _

"How is that even possible?" Link asked.

_"It begins with a famous legend among the Gerudo." _The Spirit Sage began. _"Long ago, the Gerudo tribe was often pillaged by a fearsome and unbeatable demon. As their numbers dwindled, the people of the tribe prayed to the goddesses for a way to end the tyranny of the demon. Their prayers were answered in the form of an infant. She was different from most of the Gerudo children normally born into the tribe for she resembled a Hylian. The people thought this was an abnormal occurrence and decided to sacrifice the infant to the demon. They hoped that this strange child would satiate whatever hunger the demon had and it would leave the Gerudo people alone. Much to their surprise, when the infant touched the fearsome demon, the demon was destroyed. The Gerudo people saw this as a blessing from the goddesses and decided to make this girl the leader of their tribe." _

Link nodded in compliance.

"So the gods made it so that she could live for eternity and protect the Gerudo people?" Talo asked.

The Spirit Sage shook its head. _"No. As Mitsuke grew up, she was taught to be a proper Gerudo thief alongside another child of prophesy." _

"Another child of prophecy?" Link repeated.

_"Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudos, the only male born into the tribe once every one hundred years. The existence of these two simultaneously caused some turmoil between the tribe over who was fit to rule. It was eventually decided that they would rule side by side, and so they were kept together for their childhood. As the legend goes, Ganondorf left for Hyrule and gained control over the Sacred Realm. During his absence, I became the leader of the tribe and eventually passed it down to Mitsuke. It was during Ganondorf's rule over Hyrule that he returned to the Gerudo tribe and attempted to gain their support in his dark world." _The Spirit Sage paused and looked at the ground sadly. _"During Mitsuke's battle with Ganondorf, she found that she was not powerful enough to stop him. And in the end she was tricked." _

"Tricked? Tricked how?"

_"Ganondorf used a spell that granted Mitsuke eternal life until his demise, and Mitsuke unknowingly used the spell on Ganondorf, forever trapping them to their bodies where they could neither escape or age for all eternity." _

"But can't the spell be undone?"

The Spirit Sage shook its head. _"The spell was banned before the Gerudo people could have found a way to undo it. Even now, there is nothing powerful enough to break it. The only thing that can end the spell is the death of Ganondorf by Mitsuke's hands."_

"How do you figure?"

_"The spell makes it so that nothing causes pain to the one it affects aside from the caster of the spell. So, only Ganondorf can hurt Mitsuke and only Mitsuke can hurt Ganondorf." _

Talo shrugged his shoulders. "How are we so sure that Ganondorf won't kill Mitsuke at some point? If she strikes him, wouldn't he strike back?"

"That wouldn't make any sense idiot!" Ilia yelled at him. "Why would he spend the time making so he could basically live forever and then destroy the thing keeping him alive."

"Are we sure that the Gerudo Princess would want to get out of her eternal life?" Mina asked. "Living for all eternity doesn't sound so bad."

"In any case, we need to find Ganondorf and stop him before its too late." Talo said confidently. He looked at the sages and bowed towards them. "Thanks for this information, I promise we'll stop him once and for all." He walked back into the temple to return to the entrance. Mina, Collin, and Ilia followed him.

Link hesitated for a moment. "One more question." He said to the Spirit Sage. "What does Mitsuke intend to do now that she's given Ganondorf the only thing that can kill him?"

_"While it may not seem like it, Mitsuke does intend to end her life. Wandering Hyrule for thousands of years is not an easy way to live." _The Spirit Sage responded.

"Are you saying she hasn't been with Ganondorf this entire time?"

The Spirit Sage shook its head. _"Far from it, she has been running from him all her life."_ Link nodded to the Sages and thanked them for telling him everything they knew. As he walked out, the Spirit Sage halted him again. _"Why it may not seem like it, Mitsuke did seem to enjoy her time with you and your friends. She seemed different from before, more human perhaps." _

They headed back down to the outskirts of the grounds. The other members of Mina's group were found waiting by the fire. The looked up to see the returning party.

The crimson-haired boy rushed over to Mina and hugged her tightly. "Mina, I'm glad you're alright."

Mina patted his back, unsure of what else to do while he clasped her tightly. "I'm fine Uriel, I had these guys to protect me."

Uriel let go of Mina and grabbed Link's hand and shook it furiously. "I can't thank you enough for bringing her back safely."

Link laughed awkwardly. "It was no trouble, we didn't run into much trouble anyway."

"Yeah, you worry too much." Mina said

Collin sat down around the fire, he sighed heavily. Talo shuffled over and sat next to Collin. He stared into the fire, all the life drained from his expression.

"Where is that other girl?" Uriel asked looking around for the final member of the party. "She didn't die did she?"

Link looked at the ground. "No...she's fine."

"Well then where is she? Did she find what she was looking for?"

"Oh she found what she was looking for alright." Ilia walked over and sat down in front of the fire and warmed her hands. "She knew exactly what she was doing."

"Ilia!" Link hissed.

Uriel looked at Mina, who also looked troubled. "What happened in there?"

"It seems that Mizuki-san was the Gerudo Princess." Mina answered.

"The Gerudo Princess! You can't be serious!"

Mina shook her head. "The sages confirmed it themselves."

"So she came here to find out that she was the Gerudo Princess and now she will protect us, her clan members, from atop this temple?" Uriel said excitedly.

Mina shook her head furiously. "She..." Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Mitsuke," Ilia said with disgust, "Wanted something called the Gerudo Sword. She gave it to Ganondorf, the guy who is trying to destroy Hyrule."

"Ganondorf... the Evil King from the stories?" Uriel asked.

"They're one and the same." Ilia answered. "I always knew there was something wrong with that girl, now I see why. She is just evil and manipulative."

Talo threw his hands on the ground. He stood up suddenly. "That can't be! All those years we spent together, they can't just mean nothing to her! She had to have felt something for us!"

"She sided with the guy who took our parents! There's no way she is a good guy!" Ilia retaliated.

"Link!" Talo pointed to. "You knew her better than us! Please tell us, why would she do this! She loved you didn't she?"

Link thought about the answer to the question. He thought back to the Mizuki who followed him around and called him 'Link-sama' all the time. Link had grown fond of Mizuki and had always figured that she had too because she followed him so devoutly. But, when he had tried to make a move on her. When he had tried to make his feelings known to her, he was shot down. Why was this? He thought about the Spirit Sage's words. 'They were kept together for their childhood,' for some reason, this phrase stuck out to Link. Something occurred to Link that had never crossed his mind before.

Link stared at the others. "We need to go to Hyrule Castle."

"What? No!" Ilia protested.

"We have to, I need to see Mitsuke." Link argued.

"What could you possibly have to say to her now?" Ilia asked. "She doesn't care about any of us!"

Link hurried out into the desert. "If you don't want to come with me then fine, stay here. But I'm going to Hyrule Castle to see Mitsuke."

Talo looked at him and started running after him. "Wait for me Link!"

Collin stood up and bowed towards Uriel. "Thank you for you hospitality and helping us get into the temple." He ran after Link and Talo.

Ilia rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you actually want to pursue this." She ran after the other three. They headed out of the desert and back to Hyrule in search of Mitsuke.

* * *

Link opened to door to Telma's bar, the others followed him in. Beth stood up and hugged Collin, happy to see that he had returned unharmed.

Telma was cleaning glasses when they walked in. She carefully scrubbed a glass clean with a rag. "You're back already, did you find that poor girl?"

Collin nodded. He watched as Ilia went up stairs and he heard her door slam shut. Talo look a seat at the bar next to Link. Collin and Beth did the same.

"We know where she is." Link said confidently, not telling Telma about the recent string of events.

"Do you need any help getting there?" Telma asked and gave Link a wink.

Link smiled. "We need to organize a seize on Hyrule Castle."

"She's in the castle?" Beth asked a bit shocked.

"Ganondorf has taken her. And we're going to go get her back!" Talo said confidently with a smile.

Telma smiled. "Well don't worry sugars, I will round up all of the men I know about who would be willing to retake the castle."

"Thank you Telma, you don't know how much that helps us." Link said with a gentle smiled.

"Don't worry, we'll save Mizuki and take back Castle Town for the people of Hyrule!" Talo exclaimed.

It only took Telma a few days to gathered up enough men to plan a siege on the castle. Link was appointed the commander of the operation. He looked at all the men that stood around in Telma's bar, ready for combat. He coughed to clear his throat and the men turned their attention to him.

"As you all know, we are gathered here to plan to take the Castle back from Ganondorf." Link announced. Some men in the crowd nodded in agreement. "This operation will commence a week from today after all the details are planned out, and we will take Hyrule Castle back."

The men cheered in agreement. They began planning for the siege on Hyrule Castle that would allow them to take back their city and turn the war around.


End file.
